I just wrote a novella in a very short time-frame, and it reminded me how much I have to be thankful for in my chosen career of writing. I have a wonderful sister, Delilah Devlin, I know I can count on for anything writing related. Don’t have a plot? She’s a great sounding board. Need to share some writing-related coolness with someone who understands the language? She gets me! I couldn’t have gotten this far without her.

But it also reminds me of all the friends I’ve made along the journey. From my writing retreat buddies, Cynthia D’Alba, Parker Kincade and Mandy Harbin, to my Harlequin author friends who are always an inspiration to me and there when I need someone to keep me straight, Julie Miller, Delores Fossen and BJ Daniels. And then there’s Susan Stoker, an author I met at the Romantic Times Convention one year and had such a good time talking to her at other conventions, I feel I’ve found a kindred spirit. She makes me laugh and is as passionate about her writing as I am about mine. And it’s always fun to do group projects with my author friends. Remember that project I just finished with a short fuse? That would be the novella for Susan Stoker’s Kindle World. It’s a crossover novella between her Delta Force series and my Brotherhood Protector series. I hope you will check it out and all of the other books in Susan Stoker’s Kindle World.

Cowboy D-Force

Amazon

Former D-Force bodyguard, protects mega-star’s body double from a predatory stalker’s deadly hunting game

Fresh out of the military, John Wayne “Duke” Morrison is back in his home state of Montana, starting a new job in the Brotherhood Protectors security service. First assignment, protect film star and diva Lena Love from a stalker leaving her threatening messages. After fighting terrorists in the Middle East, Duke assumes this assignment will be a walk in the park.

Angel Carson, lovingly known as “The Angel of Death”, is a woman with a death wish. Her main claim to fame is her uncanny resemblance to Lena Love. Prior military, she’s seen combat, lost friends and now works as the stunt woman for the mega-star. When Miss Love is threatened, Angel steps in as bait to draw out the stalker on the diva’s 6,000-acre ranch in the foothills of the Crazy Mountains. To cover Angel’s back, Lena has engaged a bodyguard to watch her six and be there when the stalker reveals himself.

Unable to tell Duke she isn’t the real Lena, Angel must perform like a diva. As the stalker closes in, she reluctantly accepts Duke’s help to stay alive. In forced proximity, tempers and passions ignite, leaving Duke and Angel struggling to resist an irresistible attraction while alluding the stalker’s predatory game. When the stalker becomes the predator, the power of Delta Force brotherhood becomes a force to reckon with.

In the time of the wily Victorians, summertime meant CROQUET! The outdoor game involved hitting wooden balls with a long-handled wooden mallet through “wickets” [bent metal hoops jammed into the ground] on a grass playing court.

And according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, “the oldest document bearing the word ‘croquet’ is the ‘set of rules’ registered by Isaac Spratt in November, 1856 with the Stationers’ Company in London.” But records also reflect a similar game called “crookey” being played at Castlebellingham, a village in County Louth, Ireland as far back as 1835. And by 1860, croquet had become one of the most popular social spring/summer/fall pastimes in England.

Throughout the years, the number of ‘wickets’ were added or detracted, but the game’s simple outline has remained. Knock the little round ball through the wicket course, ’til reaching the final stake.

Of course, along the way, the ladies & gents would send their opponent’s ball off course with a well-placed strike. And there were dozens of terms bandied about when they played the game, among them were: Run a hoop – to send the striker’s ball through a wicket; Double tap – a fault in which the mallet makes more than one audible sound when it strikes the ball; or even a Triple peel – to send a ball other than the striker’s ball through its last three hoops, and then peg it out at the end of the course. Indeed, so many phrases made (and still make) this lawn game of skill an exciting pastime of summer!

An Unlikely Hero

AN UNLIKELY HERO (book three in the bestselling ‘The Cutteridge Family’ series)

He’s a hard-as-stone man with a broken past…and she’s a reminder of all he’s lost.

Rugged army scout Dillon Reed has met his match in spoiled Boston debutante Alma Talmadge, but an unwanted assignment escorting the beauty across the wilds of America soon evolves into a journey of monumental change for them both. With killers hot on their trail, the odds of staying alive are stacked against them…and yet, falling in love was nowhere in their plans for survival.

About Cindy

Say hello to Bestselling Historical Romance writer, CINDY NORD…author of NO GREATER GLORY, book one in her bestselling, award-winning four-book ‘The Cutteridge Family’ series, a USA Today Lifeblog ‘Recommended Read’, as well as the #1 Civil War Romance at Amazon for over one full year! WITH OPEN ARMS, book two, as well as #1 bestselling western historical romance, continues the journey of characters that appeared in the first novel. And book three, AN UNLIKELY HERO, just debuted on July 1st, and by that evening had surged onto the coveted ‘Top 100 Romances at Amazon’ list thxs to her beloved readers. She is now hard-at-work crafting BY ANY MEANS, book four in her series, which is set to debut the winter of 2017. Cindy is also honored to be a contributor alongside many NYTimes writers in the delightful non-fiction anthology SCRIBBLING WOMEN & THE REAL-LIFE ROMANCE HEROES WHO LOVE THEM [all proceeds from the sale of this book go to the ‘Women In Need’ shelter in NYC]. A member of numerous writers groups, Cindy’s work has finaled or won countless times in competitions — including the prestigious Romance Writers of America National Golden Heart Contest. A luscious blend of history and romance, her love stories meld both genres around fast-paced action and emotionally driven characters.

CONNECT with Cindy via her SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
Webpage:   https://www.cindynord.com
Amazon Author Page:  https://amazon.com/author/www.cindynord.com
An Unlikely Hero buy link:   https://amzn.com/B01HMVIAYW
No Greater Glory buy link:   https://amzn.com/B008GWOI9S
With Open Arms buy link:  https://amzn.com/B00KT23WO0
Barnes & Noble NOOK link (With Open Arms) buy link:   https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/with-open-arms-cindy-nord/1119742281?ean=9781619225435
Barnes & Noble NOOK link (No Greater Glory) buy link:    https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/no-greater-glory-cindy-nord/1112120177?ean=9781619212435
Barnes & Noble NOOK link (An Unlikely Hero) buy link:   https://bit.ly/29irk5j
Apple/iBooks (All Three Books) buy links:   https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/an-unlikely-hero/id1128489909?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Facebook ‘Coffee Klatch’ site:    https://www.facebook.com/cindy.nord.9
Twitter:   https://twitter.com/cnord2
LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=25784664&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile
Google+:  https://plus.google.com/u/0/+CindyNord9/posts/p/pub
Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/cnord2/

BLUE COLLAR:  A BOYS BEHAVING BADLY ANTHOLOGY
Editor: Delilah Devlin
Deadline: September 30, 2016

BLUE COLLAR is open to all authors.

Editor/Author Delilah Devlin is looking for stories for a romantic erotica anthology tentatively entitled BLUE COLLAR:  A BOYS BEHAVING BADLY ANTHOLOGY.

Following the successful releases of CONQUESTS and ROGUES, Delilah’s ready to get to work on her next delectable anthology—this one filled with stories about those sexy blue collar men. Delilah hopes you’re ready to set aside your sexy billionaires long enough to enjoy writing more accessible, realistic, everyday bad boys. They may have dirt under their fingernails and wear tool belts instead of Rolex watches, but they’re those earthy alpha males who aren’t afraid to get down and dirty when faced with helping out a woman in need—whether she needs rescue from a broken pipe or a new, built-in closet to hold all her toys…

BLUE COLLAR: A BOYS BEHAVING BADLY ANTHOLOGY will seek stories that satisfy the reader who craves the romantic idea of that sexy, capable man set in everyday settings, with a few exotic International settings thrown in for fun! The anthology will be sold at a low price—Delilah’s intent is exposure for you and your writing. The more readers we reach, the better! You will retain the rights to your story, so that at a later date you can republish your stories individually.

She’s seeking hot and inventive stories from authors with unique voices, and above all, she’s looking to be seduced by tales filled with vivid imagery and passion.

Published authors with an established world may use that setting for their original short story.

This is erotic romance, so don’t hold back on the heat. Stories can be vanilla or filled with kink, but don’t miss describing the romantic connection between two strong-willed individuals learning to trust and love one another. A deep sensuality should linger in every word.

Keep in mind there must be a romantic element with a happy-for-now or happy-ever-after ending. Strong plots, engaging characters, and unique twists are the ultimate goal. Please no reprints. Delilah is seeking original stories.

How to submit: Prepare your 2,500 to 5,000 words story in a double-spaced, Arial, 12 point, black font Word document (.doc, NOT.docx) OR rich text format (.rtf), with pages numbered. Indent the first line of each paragraph half an inch and double space (regular double spacing, do not add extra lines between paragraphs or do any other irregular spacing). US grammar (double quotation marks around dialogue, etc.) is required.

In your document at the top left of the first page, include your legal name (and pseudonym, if applicable), mailing address, email address, and 50 words or less bio, written in the third person, and send to bluecollarbadboys@gmail.com. If you are using a pseudonym, please provide your real name and pseudonym and make it clear which one you’d like to be credited as. Authors may submit up to 2 stories. Delilah will respond in November 2016 with decisions.

Payment will be $50.00 USD ninety days after publication.

Delilah Devlin is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of erotica and erotic romance. She has published over a hundred sixty stories in multiple genres and lengths, and is published by Atria/Strebor, Avon, Berkley, Black Lace, Cleis Press, Ellora’s Cave, Grand Central, Harlequin Spice, HarperCollins: Mischief, Kensington, Kindle, Kindle Worlds, Montlake, Penthouse, Running Press, and Samhain Publishing.

Her short stories have appeared in multiple Cleis Press collections, including Lesbian Cowboys, Girl Crush, Fairy Tale Lust, Lesbian Lust, Passion, Lesbian Cops, Dream Lover, Carnal Machines, Best Erotic Romance (2012), Suite Encounters, Girl Fever, Girls Who Score, Duty and Desire and Best Lesbian Romance of 2013. For Cleis Press, she edited Girls Who Bite, She Shifters, Cowboy Lust, Smokin’ Hot Firemen, High Octane Heroes, Cowboy Heat, Hot Highlanders and Wild Warriors and Sex Objects. She also edited Conquests: An Anthology of Smoldering Viking Romance and Rogues: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology.

Direct any questions you have regarding your story or the submission process to Delilah at bluecollarbadboys@gmail.com.

The Devlins are on a countdown to the surgery scheduled later this week. The 7-year-old is in good spirits, despite the fact we’re keeping her indoors and wearing jeans or leggings. She can’t have any scratches or bug bites on the leg they’re operating on. Which means mom has relaxed her limited video games rule to keep her happy.

A kid’s wheelchair, ramp, and tons of books (reading, coloring, sticker) have been ordered and will arrive this week. We’ve located a portable potty. We’re moving her twin bed into the living room, because that room will be our infirmary throughout her recovery (the wheelchair won’t fit through the bathroom or bedroom doors, and we can’t risk bumping her cast). Lots and lots of planning and actions have been underway to prepare.

Keeping busy helps.

In the meantime, I’m rushing through work commitments. I’m not quite sure how much time I’ll be spending over there, but I plan to work at my dd’s kitchen table so I’m close at hand. Not sure how much work I’ll actually be able to accomplish.

Good news? I will have a new release, either Thursday or Friday. A new stepbrothers shorty, featuring Navy SEALs. I love it! It’s my favorite so far. Here’s a sneak peak at the cover!

Be watching for it! And if you read it, and love it, I’m not opposed to writing sequels… 🙂

Keep us in your thoughts this week…

I’m so excited to share my newest release with you, STRONG SILENT SEAL, Book 2 in my SEALs of Coronado Series!

The hero is Navy SEAL Logan Dunn, a hunk who has a body worthy of a Greek god despite his love of junk food. He’s not necessarily looking for a relationship, but when he meets wedding planner Felicia Bradford, he considers changing his mind despite the fact she’s holding him at gunpoint!

He does what any Navy SEAL would do—he saves the girl and takes out the bad guys.

Wedding planner Felicia Bradford is in trouble. Mercenaries are holding her sister hostage and threatening to kill her unless Felicia helps them steal top secret information from the Navy’s Special Operations Headquarters. Having no other way to access the base, she pulls a gun on the first man in a Navy uniform she finds, demanding he get her through the gate.

Navy SEAL Logan Dunn just got back from a mission in Syria and is looking for a little down time to relax. That plan goes out the window when a beautiful woman shoves a gun in his back and begs him to do something he can tell she clearly doesn’t want to do. Logan does what any Navy SEAL would do in the same situation—he saves the girl and takes out the bad guys.

But their actions that day kick off a crazy chain of events, including a fast-burning whirlwind romance, an out-of-control sister, an insane covert plot involving a defecting Russian pilot, a mercenary bent on revenge, and a sunrise wedding for a bride who never wakes up before noon.

Getting through her sister’s kidnapping will look like a piece of cake compared to what comes next.

Excerpt
https://www.paigetylertheauthor.com/BooksStrongSilentSEAL.html 

Amazon
https://amzn.to/1MQaaPi 

B&N
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/strong-silent-seal-paige-tyler/1123600972?ean=2940152794571

KOBO
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/strong-silent-seal 

iBOOKS
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/strong-silent-seal/id1097671833?mt=11 

All Romance eBooks
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-strongsilentseal-2003577-153.html 

*hugs*
Paige

I was supposed to have a guest today, but she got her wires crossed. So, I’m here again. Quick note! Yesterday’s contest is still ongoing. Be sure to enter to win a free copy of Conquests!

Since I’m neck-deep in edits, someone else’s, today’s post will be brief. Just a question. I can’t wait to see your answers!

If you were guaranteed not to fail, what would you do?

You can think big or small. A new business, a date with a guy at work you’ve been watching for the longest… Have fun!

CONTEST UPDATE: The winner of the free download of Conquests is… DebraG!

UPDATE: Such a strange week. Some of you had asked for updates. So, quickly, this is what’s happening with the 7-year-old. This week’s tests ruled out cancer anywhere else in her body but her tibia. Yay! Feels so weird to be happy that she only has cancer in one spot. And they’ve set her surgery date for Thursday. She’s undergoing a brand new procedure and will be in a cast until after Christmas. We’ve been going crazy trying to think of all the things that have to be done—get a ramp, wheelchair, move her bed to the living room… The lists go on and on. I’ll keep you posted.

*~*~*

So, time for some fun!

Are you taking any trips this summer? Going to the beach? The lake? Going someplace cold to escape the heat? Comment for a chance to win a free download of Conquests: An Anthology Of Smoldering Viking Romance!

Conquests

 

Vikings. Fierce warriors who terrified all in their path as they raided and marauded, enslaved and murdered during Europe’s Dark Ages.

But these rough men from a rugged land were also sailors, explorers, craftsmen, and highly sought after mercenaries.

Conquests: An Anthology of Smoldering Viking Romance will transport you to the realm of fantasy where such fearsome and loyal men are relentless potent lovers. Whether the lady of the keep demands a few stolen hours of pleasure with a captured Viking warrior or the handsome Northman is the one seducing his captive, you will find plenty of lusty adventures in settings as far-flung as Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Byzantium, Moorish Spain and the New World.

Let your fantasies run wild to a time when men wearing bearskin shirts and shining iron helms could capture a fierce maiden’s heart!

Get your copy here! It’s just $0.99 for 13 stories!

Here’s an excerpt from “The Captive” by Lizzie Ashworth…

“Dane, do you know why you were brought here?”

Elspeth, Lady of Hystead, gathered her thick red skirts and sat on the curved stool at the side of the room, opposite the spot where the broad-shouldered man stood. Her hungry gaze drank in the powerful strength of his legs, the ripple of muscle in his chest and arms, the iron line of his jaw. Even wounded, even smeared with the grit and gore of battle, his body glistened with male vigor.

Candlelight reflected off the lime-washed walls and framed the warrior’s furious stare. He strained against the bonds holding his wrists behind him and stretched the short length of rope between his ankles. Animal skins covered the stone-paved floor under his feet, one of few luxuries in the humble room with its bed, bucket of hot coals, and side table.

She turned to the two armed men who’d brought him. “Go now and bar the door until I call.”

An angry string of words followed the men as they departed. Elspeth heard the bar fall into place with a heavy thump.

Pale blue eyes flashed toward her, defiant.

“What of our language do you know, Dane? Can you speak?”

“I know enough,” he snarled, his words heavily accented. “What is your intent, woman?”

“My name is Elspeth, and it pleases me to see you.” His anger excited her, although she tried not to reveal any hint of her swelling desire. She sipped from her cup of ale. “Will you drink?”

His tongue slid over the crease of his narrow lips, but he gave no answer.

“You must be thirsty.” She poured another cup from the ewer and carried it to his mouth, tilting it forward.

He drank deeply. The line of his jaw slackened slightly, and she remained beside him, more intrigued than ever by his bristling strangeness. The grime of battle still coated his face and arms, but elsewhere, his body had been covered with clothing and armor, now mostly removed, so that he stood in rough pants that hung from his hips. Blood smeared from cuts on his arms and hands did not disguise the inked design scrolling over his tanned arms. A section of his yellow-white hair clumped against his scalp in a dried, darkened mass while the rest fell in tangles around his shoulders.

“Are all your kind so beautiful?” she asked quietly, trailing her fingertip across his chest. His nipples lay flat on the domed pectoral muscles and more ink patterned a fantastical beast between them. Hardly a hair curled there, although lower on his abdomen a faint line of darker hair collected downward to disappear at the waist of his pants. Her gaze lingered there briefly as her pulse quickened.

He made no answer, but inhaled as her finger stroked over one of the nipples. His posture shifted slightly.

“Is this beast meant to say something about you?” she asked, fingering the tattoo.

“It honors the gods,” he grumbled.

“Have your gods served you well today?”

He did not answer.

She brought a basin and set it beside him before pouring water warmed near the hot coals. With a linen cloth, she bathed him, wiping the sweat-stained whisker stubble on his face to remove blood and dirt. A strong straight nose traveled from his smooth brow and centered between prominent cheekbones. His firm jaw cut sharply to a bold chin, oddly contrasting the cruelly sensual curve of his narrow lips.

Her breath stuttered as she worked, each freshened part of his body even more stunning than she had first considered. His skin, marred by various scars from previous battles, stretched like warm silk over bronzed muscle. She sponged carefully around a gash on his cheek and another shorter mark on his forehead. Bruising on his jaw had turned purplish-blue, and more bruising colored parts of his chest and back. Nicks and scrapes laced his forearms, and a crusted gash on his bicep caused him to jump when she pushed the wet cloth against it. The scalp wound proved more troublesome. His height forced her to stand on tiptoe to reach it.

“Bend over,” she demanded, pressing his head forward so that the water could soak the matted hair. He made no sound as she cleaned his injuries. At length, she set aside the basin.

“Will you take food?” She cut a piece of the cheese and broke a part of the loaf of wheaten bread.

His gaze had become speculative, watching with an almost bemused expression that softened the strained lines of his face. “Why do you trouble over me, when I am to be killed?”

“Perhaps that isn’t your fate, Dane.”

“Do you have the power to determine my fate?”

“It seems I do, does it not?”

“Things are not always as they seem,” he replied.

But he accepted the stool she pushed behind him and sat to eat the food she fed him, and after a time, with the loaf, cheese, an apple, and considerably more ale consumed, she noted a certain relaxation in his frame.

“You mean to have me,” he observed and raised one eyebrow in question.

“Yes.” She noted the hint of a smile, which pleased her.

“My hands…” He shifted his shoulders to struggle with the bonds holding his wrists.

She laughed lightly, swallowing past the growing tension in her neck. How she would love to release him, let him tear at her, throw her down, and take her to the ends of her reckoning. “Dane, surely you don’t think me foolish enough to release you?”

He smirked. “My name is Magnus, and I don’t think of you at all,” he replied. “I was not aware the Saxons gave over the task of torture to their women.”

Anger swept up her cheeks, and she held her skirts to kick out the stool from under him.

Unsteady, he gained his feet as the stool flew back.

“Torture?” Her face burned. “You see pleasuring me as torture?”

She thought them of equal age. But she was no maid, rather the wife of a doddering old man who couldn’t keep from dribbling on himself when he pissed. On her, alone, lay the full array of tasks necessary to run such a large estate. Even the thanes sworn to her husband’s service knew she ruled Hystead. Many had made suit to her, surreptitiously, for standards required decorum in such matters. In these uncertain times, she could not risk loss of respect for herself or her husband.

Torture. Her nostrils flared as she met his insolent gaze. Her copper-red hair and green eyes received regular comment from the flatterers, and she knew her form remained comely. This man meant to provoke her.

“To what end do you taunt me, Magnus?” she challenged, standing next to him so the swell of her bosom grazed his chest. “Shall I slap you, cause you pain? Would that please you more?”

He laughed, revealing white teeth and creases in his cheeks. “Battle pleases me.”

She ran her hand over his chest, stroking the smooth skin and lingering over the nipples to toy until the flesh thickened. Her own nipples hardened against her bodice as she noted a hitch in his breathing. He may have seemed carved as the finest work of metal, but he was made of mortal flesh. Her hand slid down to the bulge pressing the front of his pants, and a sly smile grew on her mouth.

“Torture becomes you, Magnus,” she said quietly.